My first audition.
My nerves were all over the place. I avoided looking around the room in fear of seeing a recognizable actor or actress and changing my mind.
Too far in now. All that acting school will not go to waste.
I felt a new presence beside me. Male. His cologne was musk, but pleasant nevertheless. I did not look up.
"Jordan Calloway!" The presence was soon gone. I looked up. The door shut behind him. I looked down and loosened the unnoticeably tight grip I had on my script. I opened it to go through the lines one last time.
"Danai Manning!"
Though he failed to pronounce is correctly, I stood up and cleared my face of any emotion. As I looked up, a man walked out. Jordan, I presume. His features were sharp. Fresh haircut, new pair of white AF1's, blue ticket in hand. His eyes cut through the crowd as he made his way past me and out the door, paying me no mind. My eyes followed him as long as they'd allow me without turning around, and I made my way though the audition doors.
The room had white walls and smooth concrete floors, newly poured. It smelled of fresh paint. 3 men and 2 women, all of which were African American, sat at a folding table covered by a red velvet table cloth. I let out a small smile.
A tall, built man seated at the table began to speak. "Um...so Danay-"
"Danai, sir"
He looked up from through his glasses. "My apologies, Danai. So I understand you're auditioning for the role of Taylor Peterson, correct?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Whenever you're ready." The camera began emitting a small, steadily blinking red light. I began, and suddenly, my nerves were gone.
I had been practicing this role since my aunt sent it to me in August. A sci-fi film, my favorite genre, warning viewers about the dangers of new technology. Think one long Black Mirror episode.
Soon enough, I was out of words to say and the audition was over. The two people seated at the table who weren't engaging in the process were writing vigorously in their notebooks. The three that were, however, started at eachother for a second before one reached for a blue ticket.
"Here. We need you to stay back until auditions are over. There's an amazing sandwich place across the street I recommend, since it will be about an hour or less. Show them your blue ticket and they got you. Nice job."
I let a small smile and took the ticket, thanking them on the way out.
This was the first role i've ever auditioned for. My aunt, who's a film editor, said it would be a big leap to audition for something as big as this but believed I had a shot at getting the role since I enjoyed movies like this so much.
I wasn't in the mood for a sandwich but I was starving. I came to the audition on an empty stomach since I feel queasy when I'm nervous, so I my way across the street. My nerves were no longer there. The audition was over and I honestly had no idea what the casting directors were thinking. What's done is done, all I could do now is wait.
I walked in the restaurant and the smell of fresh baked bread intensified my once non existent craving for a sandwich. Through the sweet smell of sourdough my nose picked out a familiar scent. It was Jordan. he stood a few feet away from me staring at the menu above. I walked up beside him to get a closer look at the menu.
He let out a small sigh. "What do you recommend?"
I looked up to see if he was talking to me, and indeed he was. "I'm no help, never been here before. I'm about to stand here forever just like you."
He smiled and shook his head. "I'll just go with the original."
He walked up to the register and placed his order. He flashed a blue ticket and they handed him another, assuming its his order number.
"Next in line!"
I took one last look at the menu and decided to get the Avocado One. I pulled out my blue ticket and she handed me a number. "We'll announce when your order is ready."
"Thank you." I put the blue ticket in my back pocket and waited for my order. 32.
Once my order was called, I headed back to my seat and ate the impressively flavorful sandwich. Definitely coming back. I burned as much time as possible, scrolling through social media and eating slow. I then cleaned my area and I made my way back across the street and into the now nearly vacant building. There was a single man to the left, who was called as soon as I walked in. On the right side, there was Jordan and another older male sitting across from him, both of which were tapping away on their devices.
I sat parallel to the two and unlocked my phone, which was now at 12%. I closed all my background apps, which I have a tendency of not clearing up, and turned my brightness all the way down. The male who auditioned last took a seat a couple spaces away from Jordan and pulled his phone from out his back pocket.
We sat in silence for about 25 minutes before we were called into the back room.
There was now two additional people at the velvet table. Yara Shahidi sat beside who I am 99.9% sure is Jordan Peele. I contained my excitement and raised a brow.
My aunt left out a lot of information.
The man stood. He came to us and greeted us individually, starting at the end of the horizontal line formed in front of the table. He soon stopped in front me with hand out and a smile.
"Jordan Peele."
My subconscious was rampaging. I calmly reached for his hand and smiled . "Danai Manning."
It was firm handshake that lingered just long enough to know that he genuinely wanted to introduce himself. Once he was through, he made his way back behind the table and spoke.
"First, I want to thank you all for coming to the audition. When my casting directors called saying they've already found the cast, I had to come see for myself."
We all looked at eachother and smiled.
I got the part.
